1. Field of Technology
The present disclosure relates to the fixation of soft tissue to bone.
2. Related Art
In many aspects of orthopedic surgery it is necessary to fix a soft tissue to bone. In one example, a ligament, such as an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), that has ruptured and is non-repairable, may be replaced by a soft tissue graft. The tissue graft can be harvested from various sites including, without limitation, the patellar tendon, quadriceps tendon, semitendonosis tendon, gracilis tendon, or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the graft may be formed from synthetic materials or from a combination of synthetic and natural materials.
The replacement tissue graft is implanted by securing one end of the tissue graft through a passage formed in the femur, and the other end of the graft through a passage formed in the tibia. Generally, an anchor (e.g., an interference screw or a post) is used to affix each end of the tissue graft to the bone.
In another example, a soft tissue may be anchored to passages in the femur and patella to reconstruct the medial patellofemoral ligament. Other examples of ligament reconstructions include, but are not limited to, elbow and ankle ligament reconstructions. Tendons not part of a ligament reconstruction may also be anchored into bone passages. An example is fixation of the proximal biceps tendon to the proximal humerus.
There remains a need for a soft tissue anchor and instrumentation for use with the anchor which is simple, easy to install, and inexpensive to manufacture, while providing secure, trouble-free anchoring of a soft tissue graft.